Lakers-Wolves Game 2 Observations

Lakers played with more force and focus, and hit the Wolves first—and hard

Photo by Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images

And now, it’s a series.

The Lakers struck back. If you read my Game 1 observations, you might notice I kept the same subtitle—just flipped the teams.

After Game 1, the talk was all about the Lakers lacking playoff-level intensity and force. With two days to sit, contemplate, and stew on it, they came out looking like the late-’80s Bad Boys Pistons.

They responded by winning a throwback defensive slugfest, a chippy battle with countless elbows thrown and plenty of hits taken, grinding out a 94–85 win to even what’s shaping up to be a great but exhausting series.

Rui Hachimura, who I pointed out after Game 1 as someone who struggled the most against Wolves’ physicality, was the clearest symbol of the Lakers’ transformation. Early in game, he took a hard shot to his face and had to head to the locker room. He returned with a face mask, scraped it up, swapped it for another mid-game, and kept battling. Despite giving up size against the Wolves' front line, he never backed down—enough for J.J. Redick to describe him as a warrior after the game.

But playoff games are more complex than just who plays harder—there are tactical layers, strategic adjustments, and mental elements involved.

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Today’s notes:

1. Another Luka-led avalanche, and this time the defense held on

2. Defensive playmaking across the board (🎞️VIDEO)

3. Luka fights Rudy…at both ends (🎞️VIDEO)

4. Early organized offense that ran out of gas late📊

5. Is this kind of physical grind sustainable across a full series?

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1-Another Luka-led avalanche, but this time the defense held on

For the second straight game, Dončić opened with 16 first-quarter points as the Lakers jumped on the Wolves early once again. This time, his scoring came with a sustained physical edge and defensive focus—one that didn’t fade after the first period, where the Lakers outscored Minnesota 34–15.

The Lakers were in the Wolves’ space all night, forcing mistakes and battling on the boards, despite playing without a true center for most of the game against a much bigger front line. The Wolves scored a season-low 84 points, their lowest total across the last two seasons, including last year’s run to the Western Conference Finals.

Their shrinking defense against Anthony Edwards was much sharper—showing better effort to contain his initial drive, meeting him at the rim, and rotating with discipline and urgency to contest shots off his kick-out passes to the perimeter. The difference in execution was so stark that Edwards said it felt like a defense he was seeing for the first time, calling it “kind of confusing” and “kind of a zone,” while Dončić admitted the game plan hadn’t changed much at all.

After going 9 of 12 on corner threes in Game 1, the Wolves were held to just four corner attempts in Game 2, and they missed them all.

2-Defensive playmaking across the board (🎞️VIDEO)

Going into the series, I wrote about the Lakers’ playmaking edge on offense. But in this game, it was their defensive playmaking that made the real difference.

Almost every Laker chipped in with key defensive plays.

Gabe Vincent set the tone early with full-court ball pressure—something I pointed out as missing in Game 1. The Lakers were far more disruptive this time around, denying passing lanes and constantly invading the Wolves’ space. Dorian Finney-Smith came up big with a couple of strong vertical contests against Edwards at the rim, a key reason the Wolves shot just 56 percent at the rim. I already mentioned Hachimura. He was much more active and physical in this one, having the most success defending Julius Randle’s punishing drives. He and Dončić (more on him in the next point) were also key in the Lakers’ gang-rebounding effort against Gobert.

Then there’s 40-year-old LeBron James, essentially playing center for most of the game, quarterbacking the defense from the back line, and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also made the crucial, momentum-killing steal on Edwards in transition with just under three minutes remaining.

3-Luka fights Rudy…at both ends(🎞️VIDEO)

In my Game 2 adjustments breakdown, I wrote that Dončić needed to keep attacking and scoring against four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Doing so would force the Wolves into more help, prompting Chris Finch to send additional defenders at Dončić—and in turn, create easier looks for the Lakers’ role players.

Just like in Game 1, that shift came in the third quarter—after Dončić’s early scoring and 22-point first half. The Wolves mixed in some interesting late veer switching, with Jaden McDaniels either switching late or doubling to help Gobert. But Dončić eventually solved it, dishing out 4 of his 9 assists in the third period.

But more than his 31 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and game-high +12, it was Dončić’s activity on the defensive end that stood out even more. This was one of his best two-way performances.

And while the Luka vs. Rudy battles on the offensive end will likely get most of the spotlight again, I think Dončić’s under-the-radar wrestling with Gobert on the defensive end was just as crucial. James and Dončić are elite rebounders for their positions, and their ability to battle with the bigger Wolves—especially an elite offensive rebounder like Gobert—is a big reason why the Lakers’ no-center, small-ball lineups can work.

Last night, Dončić wasn’t great just because he grabbed 12 boards—it was the way he, James, Hachimura, Finney-Smith, and others worked like hell to collectively box out and gang rebound against Gobert and the Wolves.

4-Early organized offense that ran out of gas late📊